Search results for ""author sarah j. schmitt""

Seventeen-year-old RJ always gets what she wants. So when her soul is accidentally collected by a distracted Grim Reaper, somebody in the afterlife better figure out a way to send her back from the dead or heads will roll. But in her quest for mortality, she becomes a pawn in a power struggle between an overzealous archangel and Death Himself. The tribunal presents her with two options: she can remain in the lobby, where souls wait to be processed, until her original lifeline expires, or she can replay three moments in her life in an effort to make choices that will result in a future deemed worthy of being saved. It sounds like a no-brainer. She’ll take a walk down memory lane. How hard can changing her future be?But with each changing moment, RJ’s life begins to unravel, until this self-proclaimed queen bee is a social pariah. She begins to wonder if walking among the living is worth it if she has to spend the next sixty years as an outcast. Too quickly, RJ finds herself back in limbo, her time on Earth once again up for debate.RJ is a snarky, unapologetic, almost unredeemable, very real girl. Her story is funny and moving, and teens will easily connect with her plight. Prepare to meet the Grim Reaper, who’s cuter than you’d expect; Hawaiian shirt–wearing Death Himself; Saint Peter (who likes to play Cornhole); and Al, the handler for the three-headed hound that guards the gates of Hell. This cast of characters accompanies RJ through her time in the afterlife and will do their best to gently shove her in the right direction.Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

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Opportunity is what you make it in this up-beat and inspiring YA about food, friendship, and being true to yourself.Peyton Sinclaire wants nothing more than to escape her life as a diner waitress in her small, North Florida town, attend culinary school, and become a professional baker. So when Food TV sends out a call for Top Teen Chef, its newest show that pairs reality TV drama with a fast-paced culinary competition, Peyton knows this is her best chance to make her dreams come true and a chance to prove to herself and the world that where you're born does not determine where you can go. However, Peyton quickly discovers that the network is more interested in ratings and drama than a properly seasoned steak, and that there is more than just the other competitors standing between her and the culinary school scholarship that goes to the winner of the competition.After she is given a stereotyped and scripted "storyline" -- which exploits the poverty and difficulties of her childhood -- she is given two choices: play the role the producers gave her or get a one-way ticket back home. As the competition begins to heat up, Peyton wonders if her culinary skills are enough to keep impressing the judges and if any of the other contestants are playing up their roles, like she is, to keep from being eliminated. Desperate to prove she deserves to win and struggling to find a balance between playing her part and making friends with her fellow contestants, Peyton must decide how far she is willing to go and what she is willing to sacrifice in order to win.

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